Please note that pupils taking part in the above event should return to school by 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start in the school concourse.

There will be a classroom made available should your child require to remain in school from 3.30pm however please make ensure they have a snack and a drink. The performance should be finished by approximately 7.30pm and it is the parent’s responsibility to get their child home.

S2 invites you to Project Wonderland on Thursday 8 December at 6.30pm in the school concourse where they will give a creative response to the Royal Lyceum’s Alice in Wonderland. We look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you to all the S1 and S2 parents, speakers and school staff who attended this event. We enjoyed getting to know you better and hope you enjoyed getting to know more about the support team in the school and beyond. Thank you also to the PTA who kept us in caffeine on a fairly dreich evening! I would like to offer particular thanks to Ryan Gilroy…as he said himself afterwards, he spoke from the heart and his honesty and passion were very well received. We are incredibly proud of him.

If you have any feedback on the evening that you would like to share with us it would be gratefully received. Please contact us through admin@balernochs.edin.sch.uk and title your email ‘BGE Feedback.’

If you are interested in participating in a Raising Teens with Confidence course we would be delighted to hear from you. We plan to run the first course in the October to Christmas term, dates to be confirmed, but it will be in the evening. Again, please contact us at the admin email above using the title ‘RTWC.’

Fran and Anna provided their email addresses last night. If you have any questions regarding the ASL provision here is a reminder of their details:

I write to inform you that there will be changes to the application process for school transport for next session.

Last year, pupils were advised that applications were only required in transition years (P1, S1, S5, S6) and all other pupils were to keep current passes and use them for the following session. This year there will not be a roll-over process and therefore ALL pupils requiring transport should submit an application; this will include pupils that travel in taxis and minibuses as well as school buses.

It is important that pupils/parents are aware of this requirement and submit an application so that they receive new passes and transport information which will differ from previous years. Bus companies will be made aware of the new pass layout so pupils should be aware that previous cards will not be accepted.

In order to improve the application process we have created a new online feature which allows pupils and parents to complete and submit transport applications from the council website making it much easier and quicker to apply for transport. The form can be found at the following web address: http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/10045/Free-School-Transport-Application-Form and will be submitted to School Transport direct.

The deadline for application forms to be submitted will be Friday 6th May. This date is earlier than previous years however, in order to ensure service delivery, the deadline must be brought forward. This will mean that, for pupils moving into secondary, P7 visits cannot be used to circulate transport application information as parents will require the necessary information ASAP. Can I please ask that a group call is sent to parents informing them of the new application requirements and emphasising the importance of ensuring applications are submitted prior to the deadline. I have included a proposed group call text at the bottom of this letter.

Should you have any problems or queries please do not hesitate to contact this office on 01506 282322.

We all crammed into Mr Hamilton’s ‘minicar’ (knees on chins!) and headed down the Lanark Road to Stewart’s “OMG, it’s a castle!”

The boys worked as team ‘Balerno A’ while the girls, being one ‘man’ short, teamed up with a pupil from the host school, a lovely polite boy called Thomas, to become ‘Balerno B’.

In the heats, rounds of questions on map work, internet domains, odd ones out, observation skills on Scotland’s tourist attractions (Krypton Factor-esque!), Scottish Lochs and Geography in the news were all assessed in a mastermind style. The final incorporated the Geography of Ireland, climate graph matching, a one minute A-Z round and identification of international airports.

Balerno A acquitted themselves very well indeed, beating some stiff competition to come seventh out of eleven teams competing whilst Balerno B came fourth and therefore were advanced into the east of Scotland regional final; the first time any Balerno team has achieved this feat!

SAGT president, Elaine Batty was present and issued each pupil with a certificate of participation from the association, which Mr Hamilton will distribute from Monday.

The pupils behaved themselves impeccably, were mature in all contact with other schools and represented Balerno with professionalism and pride. Well done one and all!